Wil Wheaton goes ballistic

I have to *pay* ASCAP for the privilege? I have to *pay* them for exposing an enormous audience to the music? An enormous audience who may want to *buy the fucking record*?!

Are they out of their fucking minds? It takes me just as much time and effort to put a great song from a Comfort Stand artist into my podcast as it does to include a song from a Warner Brothers artist. Guess who gets the free airtime and publicity from me, thanks to ASCAP?

This isn’t about "licensing" at all. It’s about protecting the status quo (aka payola) for ASCAP and Clear Channel.

I wonder if Wil would feel the same if he was losing his actor’s repeat fees because every man and his dog were broadcasting CSI episodes? If you want to include music in podcasts, pay the fucking people who wrote the song – just as you should pay the actors if you include video. If you don’t want to pay a fee, use royalty-free, or get permission.